Consumer Law

Arkansas Supremes Strike Down ?Tort Reform?

Posted on May 01, 2009
We could go on and on about how destructive, oppressive, and cruel it is to take away the legal rights of injured people, and goodness knows, we have. But such measures are also unconstitutional ? at least according to many...

Feingold Bill Seeks to End Mandatory Arbitration

Posted on May 01, 2009
As we mentioned on Tuesday, April 29 was ?Fair Arbitration Now Day? and we would be remiss in not telling you that as part of the festivities, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) reintroduced the Arbitration Fairness Act, a bill aimed at...

Enter ThePopTort?s AIG Renaming Contest!

Posted on April 30, 2009
As some of you may know, AIG has been going through something of an identity crisis in recent weeks. Apparently, helping to bring the nation to the brink of financial ruin and requiring billions of taxpayer bailout money, while continuing...

?Extraordinary Rendition,? Torture, and a Very Busy Obama Administration

Posted on April 30, 2009
Assuming you didn?t decide to watch ?Lie to Me? on Fox during President Obama?s ?First 100 Days? press conference last night, you may have noticed that he was asked several times about one of the biggest, most controversial issues of...

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?Say Whaaaat?? Award to Forbes Magazine!

Posted on April 29, 2009
As loyal readers of ThePopTort know, we occasionally hand out a special award to those who express views that so defy human comprehension that all we can think of to say is, ?Say Whaaaat?? (here, here, here). Well, we have...

U.S Supreme Court to Decide: What Should Happen To Prosecutors Who Cook Evidence?

Posted on April 28, 2009
Riddle me this, civil justice fans: in a case of blatant misconduct by prosecutors that results in two innocent people going to jail for 25 years, should the prosecutors be immune from suit? Back in 1977, in a small Iowa...

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Finally Makes it Fun To Go To The Movies!

Posted on April 28, 2009
Forget that Zac Ephron is 17 Again. Monsters v. Aliens, who cares? Today?s #1 comedy? Pre-movie commercials by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce! Coming to Regal theaters (and maybe others) in Washington D.C.! And on a subject that?s gripping the...

April 29 is Fair Arbitration Now Day!

Posted on April 28, 2009
Tomorrow, April 29, consumers and groups from around the country are joining together to protest and hopefully stop the horrendous practice of forced binding arbitration. This is an issue we cover now and then, and likely will continue to do...

In the News

Posted on April 27, 2009
Lead story in today?s New York Times about primary care doctor shortages. Neither medical malpractice insurance nor lawsuits are even mentioned as reasons for doctor shortages - and none of the typical complaining specialties (OB-GYN?s, surgeons) are mentioned either -...

Employee Lawsuits Claim: Southern Nevada Health District Contaminated With Mold

Posted on April 24, 2009
Several different news outlets are reporting (here, here, here) that working for the Southern Nevada Health District?the agency in charge of protecting the health of Nevadans?required that employees gamble with their own health. The Health District allegedly forced its own...

In the News

Posted on April 23, 2009
A jury ruled that two off-duty Fresno, CA police officers were liable for helping a relative beat up an unsuspecting Christmas tree farmer. The Justice Department agreed to settle with an Army National Guard member who filed suit after being...

In the News

Posted on April 22, 2009
AIG and others could be called on the Congressional carpet for denying injured contractors? claims. New York City public housing residents with disabilities and other physical problems who are continuously victimized by a repeated elevator break-downs are asking for no...

FDA?s Medical Device Director Calls an ?All-Hands Meeting? to Discuss Approval Process

Posted on April 22, 2009
Remember when the U.S. Supreme Court decided to immunize medical device manufacturers from all liability? Ever wonder if they knew then what they know now, they would have ruled the same way? Just to give you a quick recap of...

Public Citizen Releases Report Showing States Most Lenient to Bad Docs

Posted on April 22, 2009
Ever wonder which states allow incompetent doctors to get away with the most bad stuff? So do our friends at Public Citizen?s Health Research Group - which is why it publishes an annual ranking of state medical boards that shows...

Ding Dong the Wicked Legislation is Dead!

Posted on April 22, 2009
Yesterday afternoon, the Tennessee Housing Subcommittee deadlocked (essentially killing) legislation pushed by the nursing home industry that would have limited compensation for nursing home patients who suffer the worst abuse and neglect. The ?Kill Old People Cheap Act? as it...

KID releases new report on 08 recalls, recall effectiveness

Posted on April 22, 2009
Cross-post from our friends at Kids in Danger, a blog ?dedicated to protecting children by improving children's product safety.? Today, Kids In Danger released Toxic Toys and Faulty Cribs, an examination of children's product recalls in 2008, recall effectiveness at...

Waxman-Markey Climate Bill May Breathe Life into ?Citizen Suits?

Posted on April 21, 2009
Good news, civil justice fans! Just as the EPA is finally admitting that greenhouse gases "endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations," Congress has introduced an exciting new bill aimed at doing something about them. The...

Katrina Victims Get Their Day in Court Against The Army Corps of Engineers

Posted on April 21, 2009
We?ve blogged before (here, here) about what today?s New York Times is calling ?a groundbreaking civil suit,? brought by several Hurricane Katrina victims against the Army Corps of Engineers. We certainly don?t need to remind PopTort readers of the magnitude...

South Dakota Urology Center Reused Disposable Medical Equipment, Exposing Thousands to Disease

Posted on April 20, 2009
Imagine you?re having bladder or urinary problems, go to the doctor and get some tests that are performed with equipment used by other sick patients. And then you get a letter from the clinic saying they?re now offering you new...

Hypocrisy, thy name is John Stossel

Posted on April 20, 2009
We told you last week about how injured war contractors are being forced to hire lawyers to get AIG and others to pay their legitimate health and disability claims. We also mentioned that the story would be covered on ABC?s...

At Long Last, Some Justice in Apollo Pennsylvania

Posted on April 20, 2009
The working-class residents of Apollo and Parks Township Pennsylvania have fought and endured more than any community should ever have to fight and endure. This sloppy and lethal nuclear fuel plant ran in Apollo from 1957 until 1983. In the...

If I've Said It Once, I've Said It A Million Times...

Posted on April 17, 2009
What?s that adage about saying something enough times it must make it true? But that seems to be the approach from the opponents of the Michigan Drug Industry Immunity Repeal. In the late 1980?s the conservative, free-market think-tank, the Mackinac....

When it Comes to Compensating Injured War Contractors, AIG and Others ?Reject First, and Investigate Later?

Posted on April 17, 2009
Here at ThePopTort, we don?t usually cover stories about the disability and health sector of the insurance industry, but this next item is so egregious and disgusting ? and it concerns companies that we do know something about, as well...

Senator Claire McCaskill - Awesome!

Posted on April 16, 2009
One would be hard pressed to find more hypocrites than in the so-called "tort reform" movement. But maybe it takes a brilliant presentation by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) for this detail to truly sink in. Watch (and thanks to...

In the News

Posted on April 16, 2009
Rehearsal dinner food poisoning leads to wedding bell blues?and civil justice. ?Speak English or else? rule for Latino workers results in a class action and consent decree. Feds settle with Quest Diagnostics for "one of the largest recoveries in a...

Fomenting more CPSIA-style confusion?this time with food safety

Posted on April 15, 2009
We and our consumer group friends know a little about ?internet hysteria,? a term recently used by the reputable FactCheck.org to describe various absurd reactions to a Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) bill aimed at providing much-needed protections for the American...

In the News

Posted on April 14, 2009
Virginia may be for lovers, but when it comes to holding bad doctors accountable, it?s ?asleep at the wheel? just like other states. North Dakota scientists ask state residents, ?Care to volunteer for a study that tests the health effects...

CPSC settles for $1.1 million with Mega Brands for Magnetix toy hazards

Posted on April 14, 2009
This entry was cross-posted from Kids in Danger, a blog ?dedicated to protecting children by improving children's product safety.? CPSC announced a settlement today with Mega Brands for withholding information on the hazards associated with Magnetix building toys...

Hepatitis C Outbreak Gives Nevada Residents a Different View of Lawsuit Caps

Posted on April 13, 2009
Back in 2002, Nevada was one of the first states that decided to cruelly cap compensation to injured medical malpractice patients?including catastrophically injured children?in response to a nationwide ?liability insurance crisis? that had nothing to do with the legal system...

In the News

Posted on April 13, 2009
Student activism pays off: Harvard teaching hospitals issue rules that say, ?Beware of drug companies bearing gifts.? New England Journal of Medicine comes out strong?again?for the Medical Device Act. Appalling Tennessee nursing home allegations underscore why limiting legal recourse for...

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